Shelley Stephenson Midura (born January 2, 1966) is a resident of

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

and a former member of the

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...

. A

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

, she represented District A from 2006 to her retirement in 2010. She first won election when she defeated Republican incumbent Jay Batt. She announced in 2009 that she would not seek reelection.

Early life

Midura is a New Orleans native who grew up in the Lakeview section of the city, specifically Lakewood South. She was graduated from

Isidore Newman School Isidore Newman School is a private, nondenominational, coeducational college preparatory school located on an campus in the uptown section of New Orleans, Louisiana. History Isidore Newman School was founded in 1903 by Isidore Newman, a New ...

in 1984 and spent the next four years at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

. While enrolled in Georgetown, she spent her junior year abroad—six months in

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

and six months in

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. Upon graduation from Georgetown, she joined the

United States Foreign Service The United States Foreign Service is the primary personnel system used by the diplomatic service of the United States federal government, under the aegis of the United States Department of State. It consists of over 13,000 professionals carr ...

. She married Jonathan Midura. They have three children. Upon her return to New Orleans, she helped to start the International School of Louisiana. Her father, William Monroe Stephenson Jr., is a prominent local attorney. Midura plays piano at a classical level and runs for exercise, participating in the 2004

New Orleans Mardi Gras The holiday of Mardi Gras is celebrated in southern Louisiana, including the city of New Orleans. Celebrations are concentrated for about two weeks before and through Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday (the start of lent in the West ...

Marathon.

City Council

Midura was elected in 2006 following widespread post- Katrina dissatisfaction with incumbent Republican councilman Jay Batt, who had authorized large commercial developments in neighborhoods over the objections of neighborhood associations. Midura's election rendered New Orleans' City Council all Democrats for the first time since 1980, the previous year in which a Democrat had represented District A. In the first round of 2008 Democratic Party

primary election Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pr ...

voting, she supported fellow Council member James Carter for

Louisiana's 2nd congressional district Louisiana's 2nd congressional district contains nearly all of the city of New Orleans and stretches west and north to Baton Rouge. The district is currently represented by Democrat Troy Carter. With a Cook Partisan Voting Index rating of D+17 ...

over incumbent Democrat William J. Jefferson in an election cycle ultimately won by Republican

Joseph Cao Ánh Quang "Joseph" Cao ( ; ; born March 13, 1967) is a Vietnamese Americans, Vietnamese-American politician who was the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for from 2009 to 2011. A member of the Republican Party (United ...

. On July 15, 2009, Midura announced she would not to seek reelection to the city council in 2010. Midura endorsed neighborhood activist and Democrat, Susan Guidry to succeed her. In addition to Guidry, others who ran to succeed Midura were

Republicans Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Virginia Blanque and former councilman Jay Batt. Guidry defeated both of them with over 62% of the vote.

Electoral history

Councilmember, District A, 2006 Threshold > 50% First Ballot, April 22, 2006 Second Ballot, May 20, 2006

References

External links

NOCityCouncil page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Midura, Shelley Living people 1966 births Louisiana Democrats New Orleans City Council members Georgetown University alumni Women city councillors in Louisiana 20th-century American pianists 21st-century American pianists 21st-century American women pianists 20th-century American women musicians